Chapter 4: Barbecue

I'm becoming a barbecue snob. At least that is what my wife thinks.

Why does she think this? Because I had the gall to diss on Famous Dave's over the weekend.

Have any of you ever been to Famous Dave's? It's a chain restaurant that does barbecue type food. Perhaps you have one near you.

Now, do not get me wrong. Famous Dave's isn't a bad meal at all. In fact, I do enjoy their food. But it ain't real barbecue in my mind.

Why do I believe that? Because if you go to any Famous Dave's in America, you will get the same food each time. Now while there is something to be said about consistency, that doesn't mean real barbecue to me. That's corporate barbecue.

You see, one of the joys of going to a real barbecue place, and I'm talking one that is owned by some old geezer named Duke or some old mama named Koko, is that you get a different experience at each one you visit. Because people like that put a little extra into the food. And their individual recipes all have something that another place does not.

I'm becoming more and more of a fan of real barbecue as I go along. And I'm saying this while realizing that I probably haven't had the true real thing. You see, Philadelphia doesn't have a lot of real barbecue joints. Not like a place such as Memphis would have or Kansas City or Austin. You have to search them out around here.

When you find one around here though, it is a special thing.

Two rules I have about barbecue joints...

1. I need to see the smoker outside the place. A good barbecue place has a really big smoker, either on a trailer or in a house, outisde the joint. If I can't see the smoker that makes the meat, then it's no damn good. Then I tend to believe that it might be a corporate type joint that slathers Kraft sauce on meat and serves it with a Pillsbury biscuit. I will allow for any smoker that is located inside the restaurant, as long as I can get a good view of it from the front of the counter. If you're hiding where you're meat is coming from, then I believe you're hiding something for a reason.

2. The meat needs to taste good without sauce on it. Now don't get me wrong. I like me some barbecue sauce. Barbecue sauce doesn't suck at all. But real good barbecue doesn't need the sauce. I believe this with every fiber of my being. Now, real barbecue with the added zing of a real good barbecue sauce can be a truly beautiful thing. And if you don't know what I mean, then you haven't had real barbecue.

Some have passed this test, some have not. One that passed this test in my book but is no longer in business is a place called Zeke's, which used to be in the Overbrook section of Philly. Poor Zeke just couldn't keep himself in business. But he had the best damn food I ever tasted.

In fact, I'm doing something to immortalize Zeke. Somehow, his famous wing rub leaked out to the internet. Maybe he leaked it out there, I don't know. But I'm posting it here just in case the recipe gets taken off the net for some reason. It must live on.

Here it is. I have used it myself, and it works like a charm.

ZEKE'S BBQ WINGS
4 Servings

Ingredients
1/2 C kosher salt
1/2 C paprika
2 oz garlic powder
2 oz granulated onion
2 oz black pepper
1 1/2 lb whole fresh chicken wings

Note
It is important to use Kosher salt because table salt will dissolve into the meat but kosher salt will draw out fat

Method
- Salt and pepper the chicken wings before applying the rub; it makes a difference.
- Toss wings with rub until they turn bright orange.
- Add more rub, a little at a time until they become slightly red.
- Let wings sit overnight.
- Heat coals until glowing in charcoal grill. Cook over medium heat. You should be able to hold your hand over the coals for 4 seconds.
- Arrange wings on a hinged grill basket so that you can turn the wings every two minutes or so until they become dark orange. Be careful not to burn the wings. The flavor will be very different.

Now maybe this isn't true barbecue because you're not smoking the wings for hours. But how many of us have that much time to do that? I use the rub on wings over a gas grill and they never let me down.

In Philadelphia, if you can search out a place called Sweet Lucy's on State Road near Cottman Ave, do it. They pass my two part test with flying colors. They are now my new favorite Philly joint.

And one more tip... every year the Phillies have a barbecue contest before a game, usually in August. You don't need a ticket to the game to go there and try some damn good ribs. And who has the best ribs at the contest? Former centerfielder Garry Maddox, that's who. One of my baseball idols growing up also makes some of the best damn ribs I have eaten. I went there last year, and I think I went back to his stand about 5 times.

I should have gotten him to autograph a bone.